What is Love? IV
Moment Four: Complimentary
Note: Takes place right after the events of Moment III. Enjoy!
Okaami-chin: Oh, and thanks to Fate-117 for editing this *clap clap*, even after I flood his inbox with more of these chapters. Hope he likes the pressure *evil grin*. If he doesn't object my challenge at the end of this chapter: he will forever hold his peace.
Fate-117: What challenge? And I like nothing more to get pressured by women smaller than me…
Okaami-chin: Kinky.
'Black is the color in the absence of all light. A color without a hue.'
Black was one of the colors that people and Faunus did not understand completely. More importantly, how the color itself was negatively associated with the wrongs of this world.
Cruelty. Brutality. Darkness. Evil. Bringer of Death.
Its association?
The Grimm and the White Fang.
Other than her previous association with the White Fang, Blake knew that deep inside she wasn't a part of those connotations. If she learned anything from her books and all the literature that she poured into her head everyday, Blake knew that in her story, and in her heart; she was nothing, absolutely nothing like the symbols of her name.
Despite the irony, she really did like how black looked on almost everything. On her books, on her clothes. She thought the color especially complimented her own teammates color schemes. Black and Yellow. Black and Red. Black and White.
She loved what the color can offer, she loved what others hated. She found strength in the night, while others found fear in it. Black would always be misunderstood but there was beauty in its tragic definition. No matter her fascination; the rest of the Kingdom disagreed, which included Weiss.
'White, just like her name.'
Purity. Innocence. Virtuous. Light. Bringer of Life.
'And I am its symbolic opposite.'
Blake realized it the moment she saw her name right next to Weiss's. Team RWBY. White and Black, as clear as day. The Faunus couldn't help but notice how different their color schemes were and ultimately what it could mean. Side by side, it showed the full dichotomy of good and evil. Side by side, it showed the superior Human race and the lowly Faunus.
And almost immediately Blake laughed bitterly. Standing right next to her polar opposite in all forms. Her better Human 'half', so to speak. No point trying to be a hero here, she might as well have been the antagonist of her own life story.
Life continued in the starting weeks of the Initiation. The more Blake noticed Weiss, the more she noticed that Weiss indeed matched the embodiment of her name… And the more she wanted to close the distance between them and the more she fell for her.
Whenever she took that step forward, she took a step back out of fear that their past would swallow them whole and bring them back to face their barest fears. Okay, she was lying, it's mostly just her own fears.
Blake knew that Weiss wasn't perfect. She was prejudice toward the Faunus, she was ignorant of her privileges, and she was a self-entitled little brat at times. But, when she opened her eyes to a new world; to understanding the Faunus are more than their animal traits, to understanding that not every Human is righteous or enlightened by knowledge. Weiss shined brighter than ever before.
Too bad Weiss wouldn't know. Not about her feelings and definitely not the troubling thoughts that plagued Blake's mind for weeks on end. She didn't want to bother Weiss like that. She'll keep it buried in the shadows for now. The young Faunus pushed the thoughts away and tried to remember what she was doing last before she spaced out.
'Oh right, Weiss is still here with me at Beacon.'
Then she remembered that Weiss was trying to get dressed for the day. Apparently they were going out to get some fresh air, and possible enjoy some of the early Vytal Festival activities. Any distraction was welcomed, as long as she wasn't left to ruminate about her feelings.
Blake was in dressed casually in black track pants and a grey collared hoodie. She was looking over at Weiss who was apparently having a hard time getting her hair to cooperate with her this very moment. It was amusing to watch, since it's usually Yang who spends more time on her hair than Weiss.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I want my hair in its normal updo. But it takes takes a while… and now after doing this over and over again, I don't want it up anymore." Weiss said as she undid the top of her bun for the umpth time and started over, "... And it's not like I have anyone to impress."
"I still think you're beautiful."
Weiss's movements froze and Blake smiled knowing her words were loud enough. While her hands froze Blake walked up behind Weiss, reached over and gently replaced Weiss's hands with her own.
"May I?"
Not sure if she was going to squeal, but something in her core made her nod mutely and just let Blake take over. Blake let hands fold the pristine hair in small plaits and was surprised on how soft and how fine Weiss's hair felt cool in her hands... and she wouldn't mind running her hands through her hair for awhile.
Blake hummed to herself as she pondered which style she would like to see Weiss's hair in. She did like her normal updo, she would like to think it's because the sideway ponytail doesn't fit the ideal heiress picture with perfect hair or what not.
It's was already rare for Blake to see Weiss's hair down except when they are about to sleep. Talk about a rare treat, and even rarer opportunity to see Weiss with something new.
'Maybe a cute braid…'
Her hands twisted and turned slowly as she moved to plait the hair as best she can. When she reached toward the desk to look for a hair tie, she remembered that no one in the team really uses hair ties.
Then she saw her black ribbon wrapped loosely on her wrist. And all those musings and thoughts she had awhile ago somehow… seemed to fit the occasion. She glowered at the contrast between the dark ribbon and Weiss's silver hair. So different. And to the rest of the world, they were suppose to be apart.
'I don't want to follow the dichotomy of dark and light. The world can't be without the two…'
She loosened the ribbon and braided it along in Weiss's hair, so that the black and white strands mixed perfectly in a neat braid. Blake leaned over Weiss's shoulder and folded the braid over her it; her voice dropping to a near low purr.
'And I don't want to be without her.'
Weiss blushed at the sound of the self-satisfied purr. She spent the whole moment with her eyes closed, and just let Blake take over. She remembered that her body was tensed for the first few moments. Weiss anticipated rough strokes and unsteady hands; but was met with controlled movements and even gentler hands on her head. It brought back brief memories of her personal handmaidens, who weren't as gentle with her hair. It wasn't for Weiss's own comfort but for the absolute prefecture of her appearance. She was squirmy and eventually conditioned to sit still and let her hair be tugged in place. And she hated every moment of it.
But, not this time.
In Blake's hands, she let her shoulders sink in relaxation, and finally enjoyed her hair being played with.
'I wonder if it feels this good for Blake's ears to get petted?' She kept a mental note to ask Blake when she got the chance. By the time she opened her eyes next, Blake was already finishing up her handiwork. The taller girl draped the braid over her shoulder and her amber eyes were meeting her own blue eyes in the reflection.
With the braid over her shoulder, she saw that Blake's own ribbon was interwoven along with the strands of white hair.
And it looked...
"Beautiful." She whispered.
She looked over her shoulder to see Blake giving her a shy smile. The Faunus bashfully looked away, her fingers drummed against the vanity out of nervousness,"I always wanted to try that. I'm glad you like it."
With that Weiss and Blake were ready for their day out together.
Again the butterflies that Blake was feeling in her stomach was really distracting. Blake did her damn best to not really worry if this day out was considered a date or not. At least in human customs.
But she tried not to let it ruin her day, afterall Weiss chose to spend a whole two weeks with her. Part of her wished it could've been in better circumstances, she didn't want to use her past as a...trick to get Weiss to stay.
"Stop right there, I already told you this last night." Weiss chided lightly reaching out to touch Blake's hand, she ran a thumb over her scarred knuckles, "Don't worry so much over it. And don't ask me to repeat myself. "
Blake blinked and realized that she might've whispered it out loud for Weiss to hear. As patient as she was, Weiss knew that Blake was all about that self-loathing grumpiness whenever her friends made decisions for her.
Now Blake wasn't really sure what they should do on their day out together. Trying not to let her negative feelings get to her, she led Weiss through one aisle that had many stands to her left and right. She knew that most of the vendors were replicates of each other, trying to fight for customer's money, but nonetheless she thought it was nice to look. And it was funny to hear Weiss make snippy comments at the supplies that they had.
"This is not even worth 50 lien! It's practically falling apart!"
"How was this even allowed to be sold? It's choking hazard."
"Not in a million years, not even the SDC would-"
Blake chuckled, "Weiss, let's not make a scene. Not everyone can afford or have the time to make quality goods."
With her arms crossed, Weiss gave a glare to the taller woman, "Even if they can't, I will pay if there's effort put into it, Blake. And besides I'm sure half of the items here could be considered illegal by any other means."
The Faunus had her hands in the air in defeat but it didn't diminished her amusement one bit. She followed Weiss to the next stand and saw the scowl on Weiss's face disappear. Blake looked up lazily to see that they came across what probably was the smallest stand in the whole festival.
All the stand had to offer was bracelets. Hand-made bracelets at that. There were strands of different colored strings all laid out in rows by color. And along with that there's different charms that was surprisingly handmade on the spot and left to be on display for customers.
At the forefront of the table there was different patterns, plaits and overall different bracelets that didn't have replicas of each other. It must be all original.
If she was leading the walk, Blake knew for sure she would've missed it. But her crush managed to catch it it; she laughed a little to herself, Weiss must have a good eye on what looks like valued hard work.
"Welcome! My name is Blair, let me know if you need anything." It was middle-age cat Faunus woman, who had a calico tail waving lazily behind her. The slight anxiety that Blake had in her chest, died a little at the warm introduction. The stand wasn't questionable in the least, it actually looked like the most well put together stand out of all of the ones in the Vytal Festival. But judging from the lack of a line, it's probably the most overlooked one here.
While Weiss was entranced by the bracelets that was displayed, Blake inquired the vendor, "How are these bracelets priced? I noticed that not all of them are priced the same. Ranging from 100 lien to about 300 lien."
"I'm fairly flexible on the price, it usually depends on the difficulty of the bracelets, since I do tie them by hand. But usually most people keep it rather simple." She explained warmly, her hand motioned toward the gems and charms encased in glass, "The charms and gemstones on the other hand has set prices because these were made by a family friend who owns a small Dust shop. Those prices are meant to support their business."
Amber eyes floated from the vendor down toward the bracelets. There were indeed really lovely. She took a small peek at Weiss and noticed that, other than her apple necklace and earrings, she chose not wear anything on her wrists. She frowned, enough to let her bow deflate just a little, maybe she doesn't like bracelets?
"If you'd like, I could make a little special something for her."
Blake's eyes snapped up to see a small teasing smile from the older woman's lips. A flush filled her cheeks, at the moment she was glad that Weiss was far enough for her not to hear that teasing remark.
Blake crossed her arms in denial and muttered, "Nonsense, I'm just waiting for her."
Another giggle was pointed her way, "Is that literally or figuratively?"
The heat in her cheeks came back in full force. Seeing that there's no way out of this, she might as well share her small secret with Blair.
"Young love, especially one such as this. In love with the Schnee heiress, aren't you daring?" Blair joked, but the crestfallen look on Blake's face made her retreat her joke as quick as she could. "Does she know?"
"She can't." Blake blinked back the sting in her eyes, her hands curled into fists as she tried to regain her composure. Out of all times, she showed weakness to a stranger.
The older cat Faunus felt her heart pound in sympathy, in attempt to console the younger woman, she pulled Blake to the side to whisper gently in her ear, "Tell you what, I know she means alot to you, and if it counts for anything, you mean a lot to her. So I will make this bracelet for you for only 25 lien. Charm included. And naturally I'll keep this quiet."
At the implication, Blake looked to Weiss briefly to see that she was occupied, before she pulled herself away from the touch, sized up and let out a low hiss, "Is that blackmail?! If you dare, I promise you, I can make you very, very sorry."
If Blair was afraid she didn't show it at the very moment, instead she had her hands up to placate the very angry cat Faunus, "It wouldn't bode well for anyone. I understand where you're coming from, young lady. I fell in love with a human once upon a time."
The younger Faunus didn't seem to care. Probably too focused about her own internal battle. She just continued on, "I only wish to ease the ache you feel. You do want to be closer to her, don't you?"
Blake said nothing for a moment.
"Pick out four ribbons of your choice, of any color, and any charm. Come back later before you leave for Beacon, and I'll have it ready for you." Blair added wistfully, before walking away from Blake to address Weiss who was still browsing.
"Anything you found interesting, Miss Schnee?"
Weiss, who was not surprised that the older woman knew her name, shook her head,"Your items are well made, I do love your work."
"Thank you, I do my best."
"If you'd like, I'd like to discuss more with you on a later date after the Vytal Festival." Weiss smiled warmly as she pulled out a card.
Blair nodded and bowed, "Thank you, Miss Schnee, I hope you enjoy the rest of the festival."
Weiss waved, and walked up to Blake who looked like she was spacing out. Tentatively she reached out and tugged on Blake's hand to get her attention. She watched as Blake tensed at the contact, before her body relaxed as amber eyes met her own opal eyes.
"Ready to go?"
Blake pondered for a moment, but shook her head, "Let me just ask one last thing, and then we'll be on our way. I should not be more than 10 minutes."
She urged Weiss to wait for her at a nearby food stand and said that she'd be right behind her.
The Faunus looked up at the older woman with so much uncertainty and she choked on her question several times but finally found some sort of courage to quietly ask. "I'd like...I'd like to have something made for her. Her favorite color is baby blue and white. And mine's black and purple… I-I don't know if she likes any charms...but maybe a…"
"I think I have just the thing, but it'll be a surprise. Just remember to come back around before you head back." Blair reached out to give a reassuring pat on the hand. The younger Faunus returned with her own small smile, "Just try to enjoy the day with her young one. Don't let your fears get the better of you. I'll see you soon."
Blake left her the 25 lien before running back to Weiss to continue their day together.
"I'm surprised you didn't buy anything Weiss, you spent a lot of time looking."
The heiress tilted her head to the side, her fingers laced behind her back, "I was really impressed with her handiwork. Most of the time most of things are made with machines. I like simple stuff made by hand. I think it shows true craftmanship.. That's why I gave her my business card, I'd like to sponsor her."
Blake hummed, "That's really nice of you Weiss. Are you hungry? We can go get something to eat."
Weiss eyed the the other stands that were selling food and shuddered at the thought of eating purely foods that had nothing but sugars or is filled with so much grease. "Is there something here that has fruits?"
"Unlikely, unless it's dipped in caramelized sugar." The Faunus had to admit, she liked her fair share of junk food, but the amount of intake of sugar and grease… she rather not die on the festival grounds.
"How about the Li's Noodle House?"
While Weiss and Blake were waiting for their food, Weiss looked over to see that Blake, again, was off in her own world.
"Is this your first festival Blake?"
Blake's bow swiveled back and forth in thought, pulling herself away from her meal, she shook her head, "Outside...the White Fang, this is the first festival that I didn't crash and burned to the ground."
Judging by the horrified face that Weiss unintentionally let out, Blake winced, 'Okay that was a bad joke.'
"I'm kidding, Weiss, I went when I was younger but I didn't really enjoy myself."
She shrugged, "I didn't really like surrounding myself with a lot of human strangers. It really freaked me out when I was younger because the hate was stronger back then."
"Did Vale change that?"
"Of course it did, and even though I was in a cross mood awhile ago...I really am enjoying the festival with you Weiss. Even if I'm not showing it."
Weiss blushed lightly at that and the Faunus resisted to keep making that happen. "Well, I'm glad." Although the tone she said it it sounded a lot like Weiss's usual 'I'm annoyed at your broody nature, but I only ask because I care' tone.
Blake noticed that Weiss's hands on occasion went up to her braid and ran her fingers through the tail. It made her smile in satisfaction, maybe she should offer to do that more often for her over the course of the next couple days.
"So, what about you, Weiss, is this the first time you've been to the Vytal festival?"
"No. But perhaps it's the first time I'm here without a set of bodyguards or under the very watchful eye of my sister, Winter. It's nice, I like going with just the two of us. You don't drag me stand to stand like Yang, and and you don't stay in one stand for too long like Ruby does."
"You're rambling."
Weiss huffed, "Sometimes I need a quiet experience, and it's all I experience with you and it's nice and comfortable. And I know it's sometimes what you prefer too."
The Faunus closed her eyes and let out a small laugh, "Aren't we quite a pair?"
Weiss smiled, "Indeed. I think there's a tea stand nearby, want to see if they have something we haven't tried yet?"
"Lead the way."
It was around 5:24 P.M when the people on the festival grounds somehow quadrupled in numbers, and Blake and Weiss were having a harder time enjoying the festival. By then, they're already made their rounds around the festival and the two weren't interested in rides or carnival games. They could come back on another day when Yang and Ruby returned.
Instead, they chose to enjoy the merriment of others. And it was starting to rub off on Blake. Since she did not know much about Vale and its customs, she let Weiss prattle on about the history of the festival and all the different Kingdoms that came to visit for this brief time of year.
She knew that she wasn't really a conversationalist so she was grateful for the shorter woman to fill the silence. And it was nice to hear Weiss's voice just like this.
Excited and happy. A silly smile finally appeared on Blake's face. Along with a small blush that didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon.
But before the pair headed toward the airship, Blake realized that she still needed to pick up her little gift.
She insisted that Weiss walked on ahead and she'd meet her there.
"Did you forget something?"
"I just want to write down what I caught my eye, and I'll come back another day to get it." She lied smoothly, "I'll be back."
The shorter woman frowned, not liking the idea of being separated in a sea of more people. "Be quick about it, it's getting dark out and we shouldn't be separated for too long."
Blake flashed a sly grin, "I promise."
The Faunus decided to put her Semblance to good use to weave in and out of the crowd back to the stand that caught her eye.
Blair looked up to see that young Faunus suddenly appeared in front of her stand. And the old woman was glad to see that Blake's features were a lot softer in comparison to earlier in the day, where she was skittish and filled with anxiety. Instead the young girl standing before her looked more relaxed and a lot happier.
"Welcome back, Miss. Did you enjoy the rest of your day with Miss Schnee?"
Blake nodded,"I did, once I stopped worrying about everything." She cleared her throat, and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Did you finish?"
Blair pulled out the small trinket and held it out for Blake to hold. It was a simple bracelet, less than ¼ of an inch in width and no more than 4 inches in length. Strands of purple and blue were interwoven together, and then was framed together by smaller plaits of black and white. At the very center of the pattern laid a small charm which resembled a small bird.
The more she stared at the beauty of it, the more the smile on her face grew.
"This is more than I asked for, and it's absolutely gorgeous…"
"It's the least I can do for young love." Blair teased, "Now off you go! She's waiting for you."
'She didn't need to tell me twice.'
Tucking the gift back inside her coat pocket, she ran back to Weiss and the pair headed home.
After showering, and changing out of their clothes, the pair decided that for the rest of the night, a movie marathon was needed. And Weiss decided… yes, decided to crash on Blake's side of the dorm in favor of being close to the heater.
The Faunus said nothing but part of her grinned at the thought of Weiss being very closer to her in night.
Weiss somehow fell asleep after the first movie, and it was only 10:00 at night. It was still pretty early, but they both spent the better part of their day outdoors. It didn't matter, the movie was still playing in the background but all that Blake could focus on was on Weiss tucked gently underneath her chin sleeping.
She couldn't believe that she spent the earlier part of their day worrying so much over nothing. If Weiss wasn't here, she'd be brooding all by herself. She wouldn't be eating so much, she wouldn't be getting much sleep, she wouldn't want to go outside for fresh air. Or worse let her past obsessions get the better of her again.
Instead she managed somehow to push those thoughts away in favor of doing what Blair asked: just enjoy the day with Weiss. And now her mood was at an all time high enough to let out a small purrs of satisfaction and relief. Blake settled for running her fingers through Weiss's hair and letting the white locks fall through her fingers with each pass. Their hair spilled over each other, their tresses naturally getting tangled together like it was meant to be.
'Black and White. Separated… but always unified at the end of the day.'
It's just a passing thought, but it was enough to make Blake smile softly to herself.
Somehow in the process of falling asleep, she thought it would be a good idea to finally hand over her gift to Weiss while she slept. So when she woke up, other than Blake the bracelet would be the first thing she would see.
She pulled the bracelet from the pocket and gently managed with one hand to snap the bracelet in place on Weiss's left wrist which was currently on top of her heart.
When the deed was finished, Blake stilled when Weiss let out a mumble of discomfort. She breathed out in relief when Weiss didn't pull away from her, but chose to scoot closer.
Blake curled her arm to hold Weiss loosely around her waist. With one last meaningful look at the bracelet on top of Weiss's wrist, she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her.
'I want her to know that someday, that I love her enough to want to immerse myself around her, even though the world…doesn't think we can be together. We're complimentary, and I know it. I just hope one day she can see that too.'
A/N: Not much Monochrome interaction, I know. I really wanted to focus on Blake's thought process of her place in Weiss's world. There's a lot of "signs" telling her that she shouldn't fall for Weiss (I wasn't sure if I highlighted it well enough ): her color, her heritage, her mentality at this moment. Weiss might acknowledge them sometimes, but she can't always pinpoint them. But other strangers can! So much hurt and hurt instead of hurt and comfort hah. Something about writing Blake going through all these waves of emotions is what I like to explore with her character. But at least there's fluff cuddles in the end!
And while Fate-117 and I were reading this out loud, the last couple paragraphs can sound questionable like lewds...I hate him for that.
Anyways hoped you all enjoyed: questions, concerns, feelings, thoughts, issues? Let me know!
-Okaami-chin